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Johnny Robilotto
Johnny Robilotto (murdered, 1958) also known as "Johnny Roberts", was an Italian-American mobster in the Gambino crime family. Biography Robilotto was a native of New York and first became associated with the Genovese crime family and was a partner with infamous mob turncoat. The Robilotto family was notoriously known for causing hysteria throughout the city. Joseph Valachi in a successful loan sharking business Joe had created. The business came under the scrutiny of powerful Genovese capo Anthony Strollo also known as "Tony Bender", a shifty, double-dealing crew boss, close to Vito Genovese. A compulsive gambler, Strollo let it be known he was losing heavily on the horses and wanted a share of Valachi and Robilotto's action. Valachi allegedly refused to give up any of his business to Strollo and was called to a meeting with his boss at a famous gangster rendezvous, Dukes restaurant in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. In the end Valachi and Robilotto had to give in to Strollo's demands, but rather than split his half of the business with Strollo, Valachi bought out Robilotto's shares and passed that share over to Bender. Robilotto at this time was just an associate. Robilotto allegedly worked for Strollo and at age 47 was sponsored into the Luciano organization (Later known as the Genovese crime family) by Strollo, but Frank Costello allegedly vetoed Robilotto on the grounds his brother was a cop. Albert Anastasia took a liking to Robilotto and worked him into his own family. Johnny was from that point on a loyal soldier and supporter of "The Mad Hatter". Murder of Willie Moretti In the early 1950s it was rumored that Genovese family capo and New Jersey rackets boss Willie Moretti was suffering from syphilis and his mental state had begun to deteriorate, and talked too much for comfort when summoned to a Senate Committee hearing on organized crime. The Mafia decided something had to be done about Moretti. An underworld theory is that Albert Anastasia helped influence the commissions decision to kill Moretti because Anastasia feared Willie Moretti's mental instability and felt he could possibly make an attempt to have Anastasia killed. This theory is strengthened by the fact that the main shooter in Moretti's assassination was Anastasia Family member, John "Johnny Roberts" Robilotto and Anastasia would have to give his blessing for Robilotto to be used in the hit. Police arrested Robilotto and one Joseph Li Calsi, charging them with the murder of Moretti, but the evidence against them didn't stack up, and they were subsequently released. Ralph Tropiano was also allegedly one of the shooters in the Moretti hit. In later years, Robilotto was rumored to have become an informant and was marked for death. Soon after he was found murdered. Almost a half a century after his death, Robilotto was featured in the book "Mob Cop" by convicted New York police detective and mob hitman Louis Eppolito, who claimed that his father Ralph "Fat the Gangster" Eppolito and his brother Jimmy had murdered mob turncoat John Robilotto. No one was ever convicted of his killing. Category:Gambino Crime Family Category:Genovese Crime Family Category:Murdered Mobsters Category:Rats